THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
DEPENDING ON which newspapers you read, Elvis Presley 1) would have been 60 years old this Sunday, 2) will be 60 years old Sunday.
Whatever, this is certain: In the 17 years since he keeled over in the bathroom of his beloved Graceland, the man is bigger today than ever. And considering the fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and old-fashioned scrapple Elvis packed away, that's saying something.
Why?
Exactly.
That's the question raised in ``Why Elvis?'' (White Star), a new documentary arriving on video later this month.
Director/narrator David Leonard, who lives in Memphis, spent three years collecting 70 hours of interviews. He talked to Elvis' barber, his high-school classmate and an Elvis impersonator whose mom once dated Elvis. He talked to Johnny Rivers and Mojo Nixon. He talked to scholars and psychologists, the men who played in Elvis' band and the man who produced his first hits.
The problem, and it's a minor one, is he's covering ground that's pretty familiar - meaning except for an until-now unseen interview with the main man, fans won't find much new. Leonard does a good job with historical perspective, defining the effect Beale Street had on a kid from Tupelo. Producer Sam Phillips, guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana share firsthand insights into what made Elvis tick.
Others close to the King, and those who were just hangers-on, throw in their two cents, too. One scholar says 20 years from now, as Elvis becomes more of a myth, there will be a religion. Elvoids, he says, are writing the bible now.
It all makes for an interesting potpourri, and a first-rate archival document, but doesn't answer the question the video raises.
Which is, why Elvis? What is it about the man that keeps him dear to so many, like the Britisher who has vacationed in Memphis the last 14 years or the Russian woman who is president of that country's biggest fan club. To her, Elvis represents freedom.
In the end, it's the fans who offer the most enlightening reasons: Elvis' legendary generosity, that he never lost touch with his roots, that even when thousands were in the audience, he made you feel as if he was singing to you.
Maybe the best answer comes from a woman who attends the candlelight vigil held at Graceland every year on Aug. 16, the day Elvis died.
``If you're not an Elvis fan, you can't explain why,'' she says. ``But if you are, you don't need to.''
(``Why Elvis?'' is $19.95 and can be ordered from White Star Video, 195 Highway 36, West Long Branch, N.J., 07764; or by calling ((800) 458-5887.)
FLASHBACK: Last year is barely history, but Turner Home Entertainment is rolling out ``1994 CNN Year in Review.'' The hourlong tape ($14.98) covers it all - Susan Smith and O.J. Simpson, the L.A. and GOP earthquakes, the pro baseball and Tonya Harding soap operas and the anniversaries of the moon landing, D-Day and Woodstock.
HEARTTHROBS: Republic is putting Episodes 9-12 of ``Beauty & The Beast,'' the short-lived, much-loved TV series starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman, on video. ``Shades of Grey,'' ``An Impossible Silence,' ``A Children's Story'' and ``Dark Spirit'' are $14.98 each.
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ``Speed,'' ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' ``The Flintstones''
Rentals: ``Speed,'' ``When a Man Loves a Woman,'' ``Maverick,'' ``Guarding Tess,'' ``City Slickers II''
The Couch Report
``Fear of a Black Hat'' (1994, FoxVideo). Don't need a compass to see where writer/director Rusty Cundieff is going with this outrageously funny rap mockumentary. He follows Rob Reiner's 1984 blueprint for ``This Is Spinal Tap'' - and nails his target. A dead-on spoof tracing the rise, fall and rise of gangstas Niggaz' With Hats, Cundieff spares no one. Ice-T and Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and Salt-n-Pepa, Vanilla Ice and Hammer. Even Spike Lee and John Singleton are fair game. It's a hoot from start to finish.
(CAST: Rusty Cundieff, Kasi Lemmons, Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence. RATED: R for language, brief nudity)
``Airheads'' (1994, FoxVideo). Spoof is the M.O. here, too, and about half the time, it delivers. Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler show their comic flair as The Long Rangers, three metalheads who, desperate for airplay, take over a radio station. Trouble is, once they're in, the film kind of idles. Joe Mantegna and Michael McKean lend strong supporting roles. Look for nods to ``Dog Day Afternoon'' and ``Die Hard.''
(CAST: Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler. RATED: PG-13 for language)
``North'' (New Line). Critics tore into Rob Reiner's comedy the way they did Barry Levinson's ``Toys,'' and for the same reason - it's an odd change of pace that doesn't fit neatly into one category, though hardly the disaster it's been made out to be. Elijah Wood is good in the lead, a young boy who spans the globe for new parents when he's convinced his own don't love him. And Bruce Willis is a hoot as his guardian angel. A silly subplot making North some kind of martyr bogs things down.
(CAST: Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. RATED: PG for language, kid in jeopardy)
``Renaissance Man'' (Touchstone). Mix ``Dead Poets Society'' with ``To Sir With Love'' and you've got Danny DeVito teaching ``Hamlet'' to a squad of Army recruits. He's been fired from his advertising job; they need a refresher in ``life'' to be all they can be. Together, they learn. DeVito is good for a chuckle, but this Penny Marshall dramadey is too long and heavy on the sap. Which isn't to say it's bad, just that we've seen it all before.
(CAST: Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, Cliff Robertson, Mark Wahlberg. RATED: PG-13 for language)
Also: Juliette Lewis and Brad Pitt in the thriller ``Too Young to Die'' (R); ``Open Fire,'' martial-arts action with Jeff Wincott (R), and ``Captain January,'' the 1936 Shirley Temple sea tale in color for the first time (G).
Tuesday: ``White,'' ``Ciao, Professore!'' ``A Troll in Central Park''
Next Wednesday: ``True Lies,'' ``Beanstalk,'' ``Doomsday Gun''
Jan. 17: ``Wolf,'' ``The Shadow,'' ``Trial by Jury,'' ``The Enemy Within,'' ``Police Academy: Mission to Moscow'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
REUTERS
The new documentary ``Why Elvis'' will be available on video later
this month.
Photo
MGM
Writer/director Rusty Cundieff discusses ``Fear of a Black Hat''
with documentary filmmaker Nina Blackburn.
by CNB